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EtJLOaY 

I PON THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF 

CHARLES J. Mf'DONALD, 

PRO-\OUNCED BY . 

FENRY R. JACKSON, 

At Marietta, April 20tli, 186L 



ATLANTA, GA. : 

WOOT), IIASI.F.ITEK, KKK <b CO., Pr.OVRlETOP.S. 



EXJLOaY 



UPON THE LIFE AND CHARACTER OF 



THE iioi?tora:b2:.e 



IHARLES J. MCDONALD, 



RONOUNCED BY 



HENRY R. JACKSON, 



At Marietta, April 20tli, 186L 



ATLANTA, GA. : 

F-ItANICLIlV PRI]VTi:iVG^ HOUSE. 

WOOD, IIANLEITER, RIOK A CO., PKOPKIETORB. 

18G1. 



In Eschauge 
DukG Uinversity 



< 



,-A^ 

^.•? 



THE FLOWERS COLLECTION 



EULOGY 



Ladies and Gentlemen — 

Poetry has well numbered among the choicest of her 
gems the simple description by an Indian "brave" 
of the death of his chief, renowned in war but not 
in battle slain : "A great tree has fallen in the still- 
ness of the forest !" • The winds were at rest, yet 
there had been the rush ; the skies were cloudless, 
yet there had been the shock : echo had responded 
from the bosom of solitude, and all again was hush- 
ed; "the soul" of the listener "retired into itself. 
and the night was holy." 

Where shall I seek an apter illustrati(jn of the 
sad, yet impressive, theme upon which I come to 
address you to-day? A great tree has indeed falhMi 
in your midst, my friends, swaying and hiscerating 
in its descent many that stood nearest to its sliad- 
ow, while the rush and the shock have boon heard 
and felt in the deptlis of the forest far away ! For 
who will deny that, in his tribe and generation. 
Charles J. McDonald was a Cliief? To the fixa- 
tion of this significant fact it is wliolly imma- 
terial whether you trace the main element of 
his power to the force of his intellect, the firmness 



4 EULOGY : CHARLES J. M DONALD. 

of his will, or the grandeur of his soul ; it is quite 
sufficient that, in his manhood's consummation, 
God had desii^'ned him rather to lead than to fol- 
low, rather to command than to obey ; that in him, 
by the happy combination and normal adjustment 
of all the forces of the mental Jind moral nature, a 
strength, symmetry and practical efficiency had been 
attained, more controlling in their influence upon 
mankind than the irregular developments of gen- 
ius — rendered withal in his case singularly potent 
by fit association Avith the rare beauty of his person, 
and the rarer grace of his manner ; his words and 
his movements, alike and always, indicating that, 
while he might cherish the highest respect for the 
capacity, opinions and acts of others, he at last held 
his own judgment in reserve — to analyze, to combine, 
to decide ; and, should the occasion require it of 
him, in the end, to command ! Thus, while at no 
time and under no circumstances could the most 
cynical critic discover, in his language or his bear- 
ing, the absence of a dignified modesty, or the j^res- 
ence of a self-exaggerating egotism, at all times and 
under all circumstances, the most superficial reader 
of human nature was made to feel the presence of 
strong thought self-poised ; and, should an emer- 
gency evoke it into action, the consciousness of 
power self-concentrated and self-sustaining. These 
were the traits which peculiarly fitted him to be a 
leader among men ; and I think it may be safely 
said that no statesman of his day in Georgia exer- 



EULOGY : CHARLES J. M DONALD. 



cised so pronounced a sway over those who were 
brought within the sphere of his personal influence, 
or aroused, in the bosoms of his followers, so profound 
a sentiment of personal devotion ; that no citizen 
in the communities where, at different epochs of his 
life, he resided, possessed more of their respectful 
regard and confidence, which crowned his maturer 
life wdth the highest trusts and dignities, and deco- 
rated his declining days with the lieart's most pre- 
cious tributes of affectionate demonstration ; that, 
in a word, while (leorgia might still point, with a. 
glow of honest pride, to brilliant genius, pouring- 
out its floods of eloquence in her cause, to experi- 
enced statesmanship, capable of guiding the bark 
of her destiny upon the troubled sea of American 
politics, and to devoted heroism, ready, if need be, 
to perish in vindication of her honor, yet, when 
McDonald sickened, languished and died, a jewel 
was stricken from her diadem whose broad place is 
vacant still. 

It seems but natural to us, and yet for him how 
lofty the panegyric ! that we, who knew him best, 
should feel this most ; that the void he has left be- 
hind him should ache most painfully in the hearts 
of those who were nearest to liim when he died ; 
and that, while the rush of the agitated times in 
which we live may be constraining the thoughts of 
others to topics of a more immediate, practical and 
selfish interest, we must needs leave the impetuous 
stream to sweep by us as it may, while, stepping to 



EULOGY : CHARLES J. M DONALD. 



tlic bank, we commingle our sighs above his sacred 
ashes, and wreathe around his memory a tear-wet 
garland of tenderest bloom. 

And now that he has gone from among us forever, 
.when neither the voice of praise, nor the sob of sor- 
row, can break through death's "cold obstruction" 
to reach that generous heart ; when unrequited fa- 
vors must remain unrequited forever, and unatoned 
wrongs remain forever unatoned, how touching the 
interest which attaches to the events of his check- 
ered life*as the}' rise up, each in its old sequence, 
before the eye of thought, all of them wearing the 
same unifonii habilliments of dignilied manhood, 
transparent integrity and unsullied patriotism ; so 
working out the grand result of a successful public 
and happy private life, as to mingle glad reminis- 
cence with our grief over his loss, like the last beams 
of the sun that is set all the sweeter because irradi- 
ating the tear-spangled draper}^ of a clouded west, 
and making him in the almost artistic perfection of 
his character, and at every stage of his advancing 
life, a study to all who stand responsible for the fu- 
ture of as yet ingenuous and pliable youth ; the 
model man to whom, hereafter in Greorgia, the proud 
but solicitous parent shall not fail to point the as- 
piring boy. His childhood, ennobled by the com- 
panionship of a noble sire, who had staked his all 
in the war of the revolution, and "upon the surren- 
der of General Lincoln at Charleston, had preferred 
rather to endure the confinement and privations of 



EULOGY : CHARLES J. M DONALD. 



a prison ship than to accept protection on the terms 
tendered by the British officers ;" his boy's heart 
attuned by the sweet influence of a highly refined 
mother, to respond to the chord that vibrates be- 
tween the moral creature and the Supreme Creator ; 
and taught, as well by the example as by the pre- 
cepts of both, ''to desire to merit, rather than to 
covet, the approbation of those with whom he might 
come in contact," and to find "his rule of action" in 
"the law of love," itself the soul of " the refined 
courtesies of life which spring from the heart and 
reach to the heart." Thus streamed forth, from an 
early and redundant fountain, that soft yet vivifying 
light, which never failed, amid the trials and vicis- 
situdes of after life, burdened though he might be 
by private cares or public responsibilities — which 
never failed to play around his personal presence, 
and to distinguish him in the domestic circle as the 
"obliging, the good-tempered, the cheerfuJ, the 
hopeful," and, in the social circle, be it of chosen 
friends or casual acquaintance, as the courteous, the 
affable, the genial; in a Avord asj9«r excellence, the 
gentleman ! How true it is that the graces of per- 
son and the captivation of manner, themselves the 
sweet fragrance of social life, are exhaled from the 
heart ; and that the culture of the heart, too often 
neglected, is of even greater consequence than the 
culture of the intellect ! ^ Give me the man of a 
great soul ! Him it is I would grapple to me with 
hooks of steel. He it is whom men continue to love. 



EULOGY : CHARLES J. M DONALD. 



long after his physical form has mouldered away — 
long after the dust has tarnished the page he read, 
or rust devoured the sword he Avielded ; who alone 
can bequeath the love of others to his own descend- 
ants, as if it were a vested claim upon humanity ; 
the body crumbles, the intellect pales, for both are 
earthy ! the soul, the soul, alone celestial, is alone 
immortal ! 

And thus the boy grew up : surrounded by these 
ennobling moral influences, inhaling vigorous 
health from the pure forest air, living close to the 
bosom of nature. Who among us now fails to pic- 
ture him, the brave, handsome boy ! sporting near 
the shoals of the Ogeechee, darting pebbles into its 
sparkling foam, and responding in merry shout to 
its fretful roar ! And yet the world had deemed 
that a misfortune which had left his father, through 
one of those reverses incident to commercial life, 
. with little else than " a spotless name," and had 
thus transferred the young McDonald from the 
crowded streets of a sea-port town to the primeval 
forests of the State with whose history his own 
name was so soon to be identified. 

The same blow had entailed u])on him the ne- 
cessity of early and self-sacrificing labor, and we 
next find the future Governor of Georgia behind 
the counter of Mr. Hugh Taylor, of Sparta. Mer- 
cantile life, however, was not congenial with his 
taste, and, relieved from it by the interposition of 
an elder sister, he was taken into the household and 



EULOGY 



CHARLES J. M DONALD. 



Sub- 
i por- 
board 



under the charge of her husband, the Rev. W. T. 
Brantley, then Rector of the Richmond County 
Academy. There, doubtless, while the refinement 
of his character was advanced by the softening in- 
fluence and purifying companionship of a superior 
and affectionate woman, the youth entered u})on that 
struggle for self-development, and for excellence, 
which was to fit the man for the trials and respon- 
sibilities of life. 

With him it was indeed to be a struggle ! 
sequently, at Mr. Beman's school, teaching; 
tion of his time to pay the cost of his own 
and tuition ; borrowing the means of securing for 
himself a collegiate education ; entering the Junior 
Class of Columbia College, undertaking at the same 
time to prosecute the studies of the Sophomore half 
advanced ; finally, in the year 1816, graduating 
with credit to himself, and shorllv after refunding 
the money which had thus been loaned to him. 

What parent, contemplating the true school in 
which the successful men of this continent have 
been fashioned, can covet affluence, or even compe- 
tence without labor, for a son ■ That school is not 
to be found in academic or collegiate hall. Its viv- 
ifying waters stream not from professor's lip or 
classic page. They well up from the consciousness 
of self-dependence for future respectability ; of the 
necessity of self-sacrificing labor to secure, not sim- 
ply an honorable distinction, but a becoming liveli- 
hood. For this, at last, is the midnight oil surely 



10 EULOGY : CHARLES J. I\I DONALD. 



burned, until the lines and letters of the bleared 
page are finally lost to the aching eye. For this 
the lender muscles of the young intellect, by con- 
tinuous effort, are fully developed and firmly knit, 
until the man steps forth into life, like the Roman 
gladiator into the Colliscum, disciplined for the con- 
flict, trained for triumph ! 

What wonder that the insipid labor of a law- 
yer's office was light to McDonald — he had learned 
to toil ! that the long days, bringing no fee to an 
empty pocket, brought no discouragement to a manly 
heart — he had learned patience ! that temptation 
to dissipation, so often successfully assailing the 
young practitioner in the absence of employment, 
could obtain no audience of him who, upon one 
occasion, after due notice given, had risen in his 
room at college from the book he was studjang, had 
approached the table where his room-mate, with boon 
companions, were commencing a game, and delibe- 
rately taking up the cards and throwing them into 
the fire, had left tlie young idlers disconcerted, if 
not appalled.'-' In learning to command himself he 

•i-NoTE. — Ap|)allcd, not, of course, by physical apprehension, but by the calm 
exhibiuon of seir-conimand and moral ascendancy, t or a inonient his rooni- 
niaic, with a shade upon the 'orovv, eyed hiiu. but said nothing. The next day 
he spoke of the oc<-,nrrence to thisellect: '■ Well, chuni. I had like to have got 
veXeil last night, but i rcllectcd thiU you had jiiven lue i-air warning, and 
lliereiore I had ko uioiir r<> complain 1' Kor the incinory of this friend, who 
was A young man of Ijnlliaiil (alciils and. in ihe main, tine qualities of heart, 
and will) died many years sime, Govciiior McDonald chi-rished an afiectionate 
regard. This incident has been selicied from his earlior lite as indicating the 
liicl that, even then, the moral courage of Ihc latter was sutiicienlly develo()ed 
to triumph over 1 lie public, opinion >il the •■ l.i,-t" lioys of a college, which, as 
all who have been in a college mu>t know lull well, is a very formidable 
a■^tagoni^t. 



EULOGY : CHARLES J. I\i'D0NALD. 11 

had already learned the easier lesson of command- 
ing others. The former is the major, the latter is 
the minor proposition. 

And what wonder that, thus endowed hy nature, 
and thus disciplined by education, his career before 
the people of Georgia, wdiether in professional or 
political life, shoukl have been crowned with suc- 
cess and with honor. Admitted to the bar in 1817, 
Solicitor General of the Flint Circuit in 1823, Judgfe 
of the same circuit in 18*25, representing the county 
of Bibb in 1830, Senator from the same county in 
1834 and 1837, Governor of the State from 1839 to 
1843 inclusive. President of the Nashville Conven- 
tion in 1850, Judge of the Supreme Coiirt in 1857, 
for many years an active Trustee of the State Uni 
versity, and, when not engaged in the discharge of 
official duty, assiduously prosecuting a laborious 
and lucrative practice at the bar, in all positions, 
and at all times, he was not only equal to, but dis- 
tinguished, the place he filled. 

My auditors, 1 am sure, will concur with me that 
I shall seek in vain a fairer or more graphic sketch 
of his professional life and character than the one 
furnished by the pen of a contemporary, who knew 
him and wlio loved him well. '' To know him was 
to love him." 

•• Early alU-r eniffiiiif «(|n)ri his |ir<t:i'!<.sion siiccetis began to demonstrate his 
irapacity as a lauer. C lieiits were not u-antiii<;:, and his reputation as a sound, 
industrious, and Ctitlifnl practitioner, was soon established. Duii. jj the wliole 
of his life. ex<-ept whilst in the Executive Chair and upon the bench, he was in- 
defatigable in pursuit of his profe-sion. His circuit was extended, and )iis va- 



12 



EULOGY 



CHARLES J. M DONALD. 



rioiis engagemenis involved greal energry and assiduity. His cases were pre- 
pared and prosecuted willi unconiinon labor. His perseverance was indomil- 
able. He seemed almost incapable of abandonmir a cause. When defeated, 
his case, if possible, revived in some new form. His touch of the earth seem- 
ed, as in the case of the fiibled wrestler, to impart new strenjrth. lie was con- 
sidered, and justly, an eminent pleader — inferior in fact to no one of his colem- 
poraries. When the Governor came to the bar. and for many years afterwards, 
the pleading-s of the common law, relieved, it i< true, of somethin^r of their 
subtlety by our statutes, obtained in the courts of Georjria ; and familiarity with 
them Vv-as an indispensable qualification. His skill as a pleader is referred to 
as proof of his ability as a lawyer, inasmuch as it was unattainable without 
thorough knowledge of elementary ])rinciples. The pleadings in a cause are 
a logical statement of the facts with a view to a clear ascertainment of the 
rights of a parly. A knowledge of the principles upon which those rights de- 
pend becomes essential, therefore, to good pleading. The writer of this article 
has had occasion freijuenlly to note, the admirable logic of Bills in Equity 
drawn by him. His oratory was not impassioned — nor remarkable for fliieiu'y. 
His language was pure, for he was a good classical scholar. His manner o( 
speaking was rather grave, for he had no excess of imagination. He gave 
himself more especially, to the solid matter of his subject, whether at the bar 
or in the Senate. His style of oratory wa> upon the whole, more forensic than 
popular. Still his addresses to the jury were eflcclivc. because of iiis clear 
perception of the strong points in his case, and his persj>icuous handling of 
facts. No doubt, much of his succe.is as an advoi- ate. was attributable to hi> 
accurate knowledge of men — his ready insight into character. Coming into 
life without the advantages of fortune or numerous connections, he fought his 
way to professional and political distinction among the people, and in the 
midst of able competitors. It is in such a s'-hool, that, in our country, men 
'earn to be great. It may not be forgotten, however, by those who would pro- 
fit by the example of this gentleman, that the Ibundaiions of his reputation 
were laid in sound principles^in scrupulous intejrrity and persevering indus- 
try. Conceding that something is due to natural gifts and much to education, 
yet it remains as an incontrovertible proposition, that no man ever vet became 
a great lawyer, without hard work. Xo one ever achieved judicial renown by 
inspiration, by clap trap pretension or even eloquence. He who would win 
the highest professional honors, and wear them by consent of his fellows, mu^l. 
like Judge McDonald, devote a life time to the enterprise. As a.Iudge. his im- 
partiality was never impugned, and his lirmness never que>tioned. Like other 
Judges, including Mansfield and Marshall, he may havi- committed errors, but 
the profession concede that he brounhi to his judgments ujirightness. and the 
best resources of a >trong and well trained intellect. lie was not an 'oft 
speaking" Judge but for the most part silent — patient and courteous. He abid- 
ed authority, believing th^it rights depend greatly upon the permanency and 
uniformity of the rules which guard them. He had not the vaniiy to believe 
that he was wiser than an hundred generations thai preceded him. or that u 



eulogy: CHARLES J. m'donald. 13 



principle was erroneously sellied, because an ingenious man could give plau- 
sible reasons against it. Ilis recorded opinions whilst upon the Supreme Court 
i)enoh, are characierised l)y brevity, perspicuity, learning and pure Saxon Eng- 
lish. They are highly creditable to the Judicial literature of the State." 

It were idle to undertake, in a brief address, to 
do justico to tlie public services of Gov. McDon- 
ald Fortunately, they are of such recent date, 
and were themselves of so marked a character as 
to render the attempt from me a work of superero- 
gation. 

Political consistency has been pronouncer! a jewel 
by reason of its rarity, and yet who could deny to 
him the possession of that jewel ? Consistency, 
however, is but a pitiful counterfeit of paste, unless 
it be crystalized from the elements legitimately 
composing jewels. Gov. McDonald was a consis- 
tent because he was a philosophical statesman. No 
time-server, his opinions were the result of his own 
observation and meditation, not the suo-o-estions of 
an occasion, or of an engrossing attention to the 
wliimsical shiftings of the popular breeze. Labo- 
rious in all things, it was but natural for him to 
elaborate his political thought; his promptness aiid 
self-possession in action were not (indeed, can they 
ever be?) the mere inspirations of the moment. 
" Consul/o, et ubi consulueris, mature facto, opus 
estr 

He preferred the fame that endures, generally 
secured m free countries by warring against error, 
when error is popular, to the effervescent reputation 



.14 EULOGY : CHARLES J. m'doNALD. 

born of flatterino- the popular vanity at the sacrifice 
of truth and of manhood. Lookint^ beyond tlie 
moment, the triumph of the moment did not (rreatly 
elate him on the one hand, nor the defeat of the 
moment greatly depress him on the other. He con- 
fided in the power of true principle to vindicate 
itself, ere the race should be run ; and his personal 
promotion, save as a fair sequence from the triumph 
of the truth, vras something- he neither expected nor 
desired. Hence, he carried into politics no acrimo- 
ny of feeling. If he warred against a political op- 
ponent, he warred for what he deemed to be the' 
right ; it was a political and not a personal warfare ; 
he warred in public, not in private ; it wms a prin- 
ciple of his life to say nothing against a political 
antagonist in private — nay, not even to the partner 
of his bosom — which he was not prepare'^ to sav in 
public and before the world. 

At every stage ot his life he was emphatically a 
man of the people ; he was beloved by the masses ; 
not, however, because he either tolerated the vices, 
flattered the follies, or toadied to the caprices usu- 
ally ascribed to the masses by shallow politicians. 
He knew the great heart of the people better. Even 
had he been himself capable of enacting a truthless 
part, his own honest instincts taught him that llio 
people are keen to detect assumacy of any kind, be 
it the assumacy of pompous pretension, or the as- 
sumacy of self-debasing demagoguism. Neither in 
deportment, nor in dress, nor in language, was he 



EULOGY : CHARLES J. m' DONALD. 15 



ever aught else than Charles J. McDonald, tlie 
man incapable of a lie, pursuincr the even tenor of 
his way^ respecting humanity, whenever and 
when-ver humanity was self-respecting and there- 
fore respectable, but nowhere else ; meeting every 
man (until the reverse should be made to appear,) 
upon the ennobling assumption that, like liimseif, 
every free American realized the sovereignty of his 
own position, was prepared to succumb neither to 
individual dictation nor to popular clamor, and, 
when the knee was to l>e bended, knelt alone to his 
God! 

To each one of you, my auditors, I appeal, to 
recall from the shadowy past the imposing form 
which at one time was wont to grace your streets ; 
the warm grasp of the hand, mute eloquence of the 
sympathetic heart ; the fascinating smile that lit up 
the noblest of features ; the frank, kindly tone that 
questioned you of your own welfare, and that of 
your family, and designate, if you can, one solitary 
occasion when he departed from the simple dignity 
of the true gentleman of nature, for the purpose of 
producing a dishonest effect, or pandering to a vul- 
gar instinct ; or debased, by word or act of his, the 
standard of thought, of morals, or of deportment 
befitting a man, or a people, undertaking to be free ! 
Was not his contact with the masses, as with indi- 
viduals, always elevating to them, never depressing 
to himself; winning their warmest regard, without 
detracting from their profoundest respect? Let us 



16 eulogy: CHARLES J. m'donald. 



learn, then, from this dignified life that a true hu- 
manity, a generous sympathy with the people, has 
but little in common with the demagogue ! 

An uncompromising adherence to the Constitu- 
tion was the distinguishing feature of his political 
life, from its commencement, in the dead calm which 
followed the last war with Great Britain, to its re- 
cent close, amid the oratherino; clouds and the mut- 
tering thunders of the storm which has just dashed 
the old Union in twain. In his theory of republi- 
can government, as the abstract law had been sub- 
stituted for the more material rule of the elder po- 
litical civilizations, the abstract law had been made 
to speak like a tyrant, and, like a tyrant, must be 
obeyed. No European monarch had subject more 
loyal to his person than was he loyally devoted to 
this vital principle of republican civilization — obe- 
dience, implicit obedience to the law; — the crowned, 
the sceptred, the sovereign, the constitutional law ! 

The following sentences, extracted from a letter 
addressed by himself, in March, 1840, to Messrs. 
Alford, Dawson and others, enunciate in emphatic 
language the cogent philosopliy of his thought : 

"The Slate, ill her s(iv(jrei<rii capacity, zealously guarding- all of lier attri- 
hiites, yet sternly tleiiianding tVoin the Federal Government the full dij^charge 
of its Constitutional duly : inajesiically spurning all invocations of sympathy, 
all su|)plication for interposition from any quarter not oontemplated by the Con- 
stitution, while Georgia will jealously watch ihe operations of the General 
GoverniiKjul. and inanfully war against her assumption and exercise of undel- 
egated powers, she will as sternly demand of her the performance of all Con- 
stitutional ohligations. She does not regard her co-Slates, except as represent- 
ed ill Congress, as having Cons'.itutional power to carry into execiifion, any 



EULOGY : CHARLES J. m'dONALD. 17 



Constitntional provision, and will neither invoke their !<yinpathy. nor suiipiicale 
their inlerposiiion, in any trial she may have." 

His life afforded marked occasions wiien he car- 
ried these principles into practical application, 
though warring with the interest, the passion, tlio 
apparent expediency of the moment. 

"It was. I think, about the period of the threatened collision between South 
Carolina and the General Government that, during the week of one of the an- 
nual coinnieni-ements, in Athens, a meeting of the citizens and visitors was 
called to consult as to what would be the best course for our State to pursue, 
in order to bring about a redress of existing evils. At this meeting a resolutiim 
was introduced, recommending the ensuing legislature to tax all such Jvorth- 
ern goods a.s should, after the passage of the act, be brought to our market. — 
When the question was put. the whole house seemed to respond affirmatively. 
but when the nays were called for, there was one emphatic no. A division was 
then demanded, when JUDGE McDONALD rose. lie l)elieved himself to bi; 
alone, but, on looking around, he saw four other gentlemen standing. Amon<; 
these, was, I think, Mr. VVms. Rutherford, Sen. 

My memory may not be quite accurate, though I belive it to he so. The 
reason assigned to his friends for this vote was that such an act would be un- 
constitutional." 

It will be remembered that, during his Guberna- 
torial Administration, the Federal law dividing 
the States into Congressional Districts was adopted. 
A Democratic Lecrislature beinrr in session, a bill 
was passed, by a decided majority, districting Geor- 
gia so as to give her a delegation in Congress whol- 
ly Democratic. Yet the Governor, himself a De- 
mocrat, did not hesitate upon constitutional grounds 
to veto the bill, thereby greatly endangering his 
personal popularity with his own party. 

Says the same biographer from whom I hav.'^ al- 
ready quoted : 

"To illustrate his moral courage, the following incidents are presented. In 
o 



18 EULOGY : CHARLES J. M DONALD. 



ISil. wlieii tlie pecuniary emlmrrassnients of the Stale were yet unrelieved, 
the lefrislaltire passed an a^■^ to reduce the Inxes twenty per i-ent. He veined 
ilie act. Vetoes in that day were rare thinf;s. To intervene liv executive 
aiitlioriiy to prevent a reduction nflhe taxes, was to iuiperil most seriously llie 
popiilarily olilie Governor, yet he did not hesitate to laNethe hazard. Airain. 
in 18|-J. he had made an urijenl appeal to the li-gislature to provide (or the ne- 
cessities of the Treasury liy an increase of taxes. A l)ill in accordanie with 
his V ews was introduced, and lost. Upon learning-, toward ihe close of ihe 
si-ssion, ihat the Treasurer was. as usual, paying to the inemliers their k-jzal 
compensation, hefore the passage of the appropriation bill, he issued an execu- 
tive order, forbidding further advances. The supplies l)eiiig thus r-topped. the 
(Jcneral Assembly was thrown into violent ag tation, but neither the r'-ujon- 
sirances of his frierids, nor the denunciations of his enemies, availed to uiili- 
draw the order. He .stood firtn, and the bill was passed. These incidents, now 
that the passions of the hour have died away, will be. looked upon liy all candid 
men. as striking illustrations of character."' 

'Ills Gubernatorial term began at a time when the State labored under se- 
vere financial emliarrassments. Didicullies surrounded the Treasury, which 
seemed almost inextricable. The Western and Ailaiitic Uailroad, a work which 
lias contributed incalculably to the wealth and greatness of the Slate, had been 
begun, but now lingered in its progress, for the waul of means. The Central 
Hank, which had been matle llie (iscal agent of ihe ^tate, and charged wiih ihe 
burden of supporting it wilhoiil taxation. j)res.-ed altogether bt\oiid Us ca- 
jiacity — had fallen into discredit in the comniercial world. The credit of the 
rotate was prostrate by reason of a protest oi its obligations to a large aiiiouni. 
The taxes, under the delusive idea that the Cenlral Bank would furni>h ample 
provision for the public necessities, had been withdrawn and given loilie coun- 
ties, and the Treasury was euipty. it is, therefore, apparent thai his ndiiiuii- 
siralion started under inost iiiaus()icious circumstances. It is ihe crowning 
glory of that administration that it exirii-ated the Si ate ("rom her embarras>inciiis. 
(Jovernor McDonald a<-hieved this inumph by a manly and persisiciii demaml, 
that Ihe wants of the Government should be supplied by taxation. 

Discanling expedients, and confronting the exigency with iinliinching cour- 
age, he exposed the true condition of the liiiances. and counselled the p nple, 
and the legislature to restore the taxes to ihe Treasury. Iji> a|)peals to 
the pride and honor of the country were not in vain, alilioiigh tiiidily and 
sonit'whal reluctanlly met. They however were met. aiul the crcili ol the 
Stale restored, ller great work of internal improvemeui atlvaiiced. and his 
suci-essors had little to do, but to Jbllow out the line of policy wliieh lie had in- 
augurated.' 

Tc) illustrate the simple, Spartan view which he 
took of the discharge of duty when opposed to par- 
tizan expediency, or to popular clamor, the follow- 



eulogy: CHARLES J. m'donald. 19 



ing sentences, extracted from a letter to Col. Gard- 
ner, dated in 1847, and referring to tlie same inci- 
dents, are presented : 

••Whoii I went into ofl'u-e I found «he State credit proslrated by the proie^i 
of a delit of §300.000, due the Pha?nix Bank of New York, not one dollar com- 
ing into the Treasury from taxeti, nnd'ilie only reliance the notes of the i)ro- 
lested BaiiL 1 he Legislature of IbSO required one half o( the meagre tax 
levied by it to he paid into the Treasury. The Legislature o( ISIO voted it bai;'i 
to the counties, and ordered the small amount paid into the Treasury to he 
paid back to the Tax Collectors. The pretext was that the Act of 1S39, direct- 
ing the taxes to Imj paid into the Treasury, was unconstitutional. The position 
was not tenable, and J should have vetoed it. had it not been that the Collec- 
tors, who had no*, settled at the Treasury, would not have paid, with the ex- 
pressed views of ihe Legislature that the Act was unconstituiional. and the 
expir-nse and trouble of coercing them would have cost more than it was wonh. 
In 1S40, I recommended the Legislature to resume the whole amount of the 
ta.K, whii h they did. and for which they are entitled to just the amount of (TetKl 
that any body of men are entitled to wlio do their duty."' 

Surely the following high eiilogium, pronounced 
upon him by one of his distinguished colleagues of 
the Supreme Bench, was well deserved ! 

'•Need I speak of his indexible integrity — that moral and physical courage 
which were the prominent traits of his character? Such was his bravery — 
that, like Luther, when summoned to the diet of Worms— he would fearless'y 
have repaired to tlie post of duty, though he knew there were as many devils 
there as tiles on the house, ilis conduct while Governor, during the years 
1811 and 1S12, aflords striking proofs of the truth of this assertion." 

The grand events, which have recently passed 
with such startling rapidit}'' into the history of this 
continent, cannot fail to direct the attention of the 
just and the thoughtful — especially of those most 
conversant with the opinions of Gov. McDonald — 
to the positions which, for long years, he so con- 
sistently held in regard to the Federal relations of ths 
United States. To some, who remember his words, 



20 EULOGY : CHARLES J. m'dONALD. 

both in public and private, when speaking upon this 
momentous subject, he will now seem to have been 
endowed with a vision almost prophetic. And, as- 
suredly, next to the gift of prophecy comes that ol 
a ])atient, laborious logic, purified by a heroic de- 
votion to principle, which elevates the mind far 
above the mist-ridden realms of passion, prejudice, 
and short-sighted expediency, enabling it to follow, 
by the simple rule of cause and effect, the springs 
of public mischief to their streams, their rivers, their 
lakes, their seas, their ocean, and thus to map out 
the speculative future with the full faith and precis- 
ion of practical observation. 

In proof of the possession by Gov. McDonald, in 
an eminent degree, of this, the very highest power 
of the statesman, I might quote indefinitely from 
his speeches and writings upon what, in his day, 
were known as national politics. This task, though 
pleasing and instructive in itself, is rendered wholly 
unnecessary by a document which I hold in my 
hand, addressed to a committee of gentlemen in 
Charleston, under date of the 26th December, 1848 ; 
a letter never published to the world, of which it is 
no exaggeration to say that it had foreshadowed the 
subsequent progress of Federal events down to the 
very moment in which we breathe, with an accu- 
racy absolutely marvellous. 

Nay, farther, in this one letter are grouped to- 
gether the most striking evidences of his profound 
devotion to the old system and union of States as 



EULOGY : CHARLES J. AI'dONALD. 21 

contemplated and created by the fathers; of his 
firm trust and reliance in the calm justice of a su- 
perintending Providence ; and of the possession by 
him of a lofty tone of political ethics, worthy of the 
exalted civilization commended to the world by the 
grand example of Washington. I feel most sensi- 
bly that its perusal, before an appreciative audience, 
were the highest political eulogium which I could 
pronounce upon its author. The letter is enough 
to establish any man's fame. Time fails me, how- 
ever, to do more than to quote at random from it„ 

How calmly, and yet how forcihly, does the fol- 
lowing paragraph describe the political condition of 
the United States during the epoch commencing 
just at the time he wrote, upon the conclusion of 
the Mexican War ; the gathering clouds, the mut- 
tering thunder, the close, hot atmosphere, pres- 
aging the tremendous tempest which might be ap- 
proaching, unless the Supreme Ruler of events, to 
wdiom, not alone the timorous, but the good, look 
up to avert great national calamities, should once 
again intervene for our protection. 

■'The lime has arrived when the subject to which your circular relates, must 
command the deliberate consideration oflhe American people. Disappointed 
ambition, coml)ining with a mad fanaticism, have marshaled their united (orces 
to assail the Constitutional rights ofa large portion of the citizens of this, hith- 
erto, happy country; and the assault is made in the halls of Legislation. If 
they succeed there, the Constitution and the Union are buried in a common 
grave, unless the Judiciary, which 1 have considered the bulwarlc of Liberty, 
standing firmly between a reckless or corrupt Congress having the cooperation 
ol'a weak, arbitrary or perverse Executive, and the people, shall come to the 
rescue. My forbodings may be too gloomy. I trust they are. Angry clouds 
have heretofore arisen in our political liorizon, which seemed to menace the 



22 EULOGY : CHARLES J. m'donald. 



fair fabric which God has c-onstriicled for us; hut they passed away and lefl a 
beHiitil'iii calm. The same Great Being. U'ho proteeled us in liiose limes, m.iy 
spread His mantle over us now, and sliield us fVom the threatening evil." 

How completely do the next sentences refute the 
charge, at one time made against him by his op- 
ponents, of cherishing purely revolutionary senti- 
ments. 

" It has always been my creed that the people ought to await the action of all 
the coa>titiited aiithorilies of the conntry, before tiiey resort to revolutionary 
measures. If one ol'the Departments of' Government meditate an evil, another 
may arrest jt. ( 'ur political system is most admirable, and perhaps no case 
has Occurred since the organization of the Government", which so strikingly 
illustrates its value, us that which is now likely to present iiself An immen>e 
territory has been acquired by the Government. It is the property of no State, 
but of all the Slates. 

It is proposed to organize Governments in this Territory, and it is insisted 
by .sectional Representatives, that the GovermiieiU shall be so organized; as to 
exclude slavery from them, while it is contended by the Hepreseiitatives of 
otiier .>iectioiis, that Congress has no |)Ower to enact this e.xclusion. If" Con- 
gress should enact it. the President may arrest it; and i(" he approve it, the 
Judiciary may annul it. As nnpromising as the prospect is, it may, perhaj)*, 
not yet come to this." 

That "the prospect" was indeed, '■'unpromising ;'' 
that his '■'■f(i7'iihodi7ig.<' were not 'Hoo glnomy''' the 
subsequent history of this continent has demonstrat- 
ed ; more especially as regards the action of the 
Federal Congress. There corrupt demagoguism, 
and rampant fanaticism, left but a handful of men 
from the North who (to use his language,) had "pat- 
riotism enough to desire the happiness of the people, 
and the prosperity of the country." 

Failing patriotism in the Congress, a corrupt dem- 
agoguism and sectionalism triumphing over the prin- 
ciples of justice, and the sovereignty of the Consti- 



EULOGY : CHARLES J. I\l"l)aNALD. 23 

tution, hear how nobly he invokes the national Ex- 
ecutive to the dischari^e of duty ! 

•ir.-ci'tional power be .^iidk'ieiitly strong, it may l)e exerted for the most op- 
pressive purposes. Rut the President represents not sections— exeep: as piiils 
ine.liided in a wiiole. He is the servant and iinniediate representative ol ihe 
.whole people, and iThebean ii|)ri;;lu magistrate, and loves justice and will 
maintain right, lie will not permit a wrong to be done to a single one ot Ins 
eonstiluen's. by an unjustilKible exercise of power. The objeet ofall Govern- 
ment is the , attainment and eriroreefneiit of justice, and he is an indiHerciit 
minister who does not use his power to accomplish its ends. It was one of the 
wise men olGreece, I believe, who said that -that Government is best, in which 
an injury to the meanest citizen is an insult upon the whole community"' — ;i 
seatii'.ient as worthy ofa christian, as a chivalric people."' 

Failing both Congress and Executive, then he 
invokes the judiciary to the rescue, and enters into 
a logical argument to prove that, if "a modebe pro- 
vided for carrying a case before the Supreme Court," 
any law impairing the rights of the slave-holder 
in the common territories must be pronounced un- 
constitutional. — When it is remembered that this 
argument was written years before the decision of 
the Dred Scott case, Gov. McDonald's letter will 
be regarded, not only as a prediction of what tliat 
decision must be, but as suggesting in advance the 
very grounds upon which it was eventually made 
to rest. It is due to his memory that the argument 
should be given in whole. 

•'But what are the grounds lor supposing the Supreme Court will decide the 
law unconstitutional ? Congress has no power over the subject ; nor can it dele- 
gate a power which it does not possess, to the people o( a territory. It is said, 
however, that Congress has already exercised the power, and it has l)een ap- 
proved by the President. But it has never been ratitied by the Supreme .Ju- 
diciary. The usurpation o( the power, cannot establish the authority. Re. 
peated usurpations can confer no power. Our Constitution is written. Ji is 
noi made up of usages, and usurpations, and old charters, like the boasted Com- 



24 EULOGY : CHARLES J. m'doNALD. 



siiiiition of England. It is written, and the government and its several depart- 
ments are limited by the writing, to tlie powers granted. It is a grain ; and 
a grant, too, which is not to lie conMrued most strongly against the grantors_ 
i)iit in their favor, by the terms of the instrument itself: for the powers not 
lii'Icgated, are reserved to the Slates, or to the j>eople. 

The power to legislate for territories is not to be found in the Constitution, 
while the power of legislation over the District embracing the seat of gov- 
eniineiit. is expressly granted. It could never have been within the contem- 
philion of ihe framers oflhe Cons' itinion, ihat the power of exchisive legisla- 
tion conferred on Congress, should authorize that body, so to e.xercise it, as to 
cflect the interest of the States making the cession ; or to adopt, and fix, on an 
unrc|iresented people, any political regulations whatever. The power of mak- 
'iig all needful rules and regulations, respecting the territory and other proper- 
ty ot'tlie United States, is not a grant o( legislation over the people inhabiting 
ierritorie.s. Before the adoption of the amendment of the Constitution, restric- 
tive of the power of Congress, a greater latitude of construction might have 
been contended for, with more propriety. But that restriction is positive, ab- 
sollute; and when Congress attempts the enactment of a law, the (irst thing to 
be looked to is its power. It it cannot be found, there is an end of it. It ex- 
cludes all considerations of expediency. The great mind of Chief Justice 
jMar.-liall could not determine satisfactorily the source of the power, while he 
declared the possession of it by Congress unquestioned. He declared that 
Florida was governed by that clause in the Constitution, which empowers 
Congress to make all needdil rules an<l regulations, respecting the territory or 
other property belonging to the United Slates. But he proceeds to say, that 
'perhaps the power of governing a territory, belonging to the United Slates, 
which has not, by becoming a State, acquired the mean-s of self-government, 
may re>ult necessarily from the fact, that it is not within the jurisdiction of 
any particular State, and is within the power and juri.-diction of the United 
Siiites. The right to govern may be the inevitable consequence of the right to 
acquire territory. Whichever may be the source, whence the power is deriv- 
ed, the possession of it is unquestioned." The very dilhculty of so powerful a 
mind, to establish its source, is evidence of its nonexi.-tence. 1 he power was, 
doubtless, assumed from the neces>iiy of the case, that the people might have 
lau' for their protei-tion, until they were capable of selt'-goverument. It was a 
p-nver usurped, (the least exceptionable kind of usurpation.) to prevent an- 
archy, and the people would not object, because it was exercised for their be- 
nelit. But how far did the exercise o( this ex uecexxitate power extend, and 
how far can it extend, supposing the asstiinption of it, in the first instance, to 
have been legitimate for the purpose intended ? Not beyond the portion of the 
inhabitants in the enjoyment ol' their civil rights. Congress cannot enact a 
political law for the territories of the Union, nor have the people of the terri- 
tory any such authority prior to their organization into a State. Such a law is 
not necessary to the protei^lion of the life, liberty, health, reputation or proper, 
ly of the people ; and it affects the people of the States. The law that prohi- 



EULOGY : CHARLES J. M DONALD. 



25 



l>ils the condition ofslavery is political, not municipal; and when enacted for 
a territory belonging to the United States, the rightis oCthe people oC the Stale;', 
who have the right of removal there, with their property, are afl'ec'.ed by it. 
The.<e rights eannoi be abrogated by the assumption of a power to legi.sbite for 
territories, a grant for whieh cannot be found in the Constitution. That tiiis 
power has been exercised by Congress, is no arfjunient, or a very (eeble one. 
ill Mippori of It. Perhaps the Ordinance of 17S7, in relation to the N. VV. Ter- 
ritory, was considered by Congress, a precedent for their action on other terri- 
tories of the Union. Jl is no precedent. That Ordinance, which contains a 
declaration of political rights, was adopted under the old Confederation and 
provided for in the ("onslitution. The articles of that Ordinance were declared 
to be articles of fow/wrt. between the original States, and the people and the 
States in the lerriloiy, and were to remain forever unalterable, unless by com- 
mon consent: and all engagements entered into, before the adoption of the 
Constitution, were declared to be as valid against the United States under the 
Constitution, as under the Confederation. The Consiiiiition declares also, that 
all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United 
States, shall be the Supreme law of the land. The act of Congress, passed al- 
ter the adoption of the Constitution, on the subject of that territory, was not 
pretended to be the exerci.-e of an original i>ower over it; but was intended 
merely to adapt the Ordinance to the Con>titution. Hence, neither that Ordi- 
nance, nor the action o( Congress on it. can be referred to as a precedent for 
its action on the other territories. In what light is the Missouri Compromise 
to be regarded ? It grew out of agitation which i)receded the admission of iliiit 
State into the Union. iSew States may be admitted by the Congress into the 
Union. Its action on the application of a State for admission into the Uiuon 
is arbitraiy, and a tuajoriiy of the members may reject the applicant at its plea- 
sure. It was insisted that the Slate ol' Missouri should not be admiiteil with a 
Constitution tolerating slavery. It was contended on the other hand that i (in- 
gress should impose no siicl terms, and the contest between tlie parlies on 
each side of this question was heated and violent, and menaced the integrity 
of the Union. Great, wi>c and patriotic men, co-operated in an eflbrt to adjii>l 
the ditiiculiy, and it resulted in the well-known Missouri Compromise. 'J he 
language used by Congress in its resolution on that occasion, is strong; viz: 
that ''slavery and involuntary servitude oti'erwise, &■(^, shall be and is hereby 
lorever prohibited," and was applied to that part of the United Stales Territory 
which lay North of thir|y-six degrees, and thirty minutes of North latitude. — 
But this language, strong as it is, could not have prevented the |)eople re.-id- 
ing on ihat territory, from ado[)ting a Constiluiion tolerating slavery, w hen they 
organized themselves into a State Government ; nor did it impair the power of 
a future Congress to admit a State North of that parallel of iatiiute, w liich ad- 
mitted of the institution of slavery. One Congress could not tie the hands of 
another. It was simply what it purported to be — a Compromise, and a Coni- 
pron i>c loo. the observance of which depended entirely on the good faith of 
the peo|)le, who should remove to the territory, and the (mure Kepreseutaiives 



26 EULOGY : CIIARLES J. M DONALD. 



ot'llie people in Coiigrfss; for there is no power Known to tiie Cunstitution i)y 
wliicli its execution could be enlbrt-ed. 

What did the Comprouiise amount to. then, if it was not authoritative and 
eould not lie enforced ? Simply to this : that it'lhe people oflhe territory should 
organize themselves into a Stale, and present themselves for admission into 
the Union, with a Constitution not prohibiting slavery, their api)lication sliuiiKI 
be rejected ; not because ol the operation of any consiraining power; but lor 
the respect due to the compromise ofa disturliing question. Suppose a new 
I'-tate, organized in the territory north ol'the parallel of latitude specified in the 
act ol' Congress, were admitted into the Union, iiaving a Constitniion proliibii- 
ing slavery, that State would certainly possess the power, in virtue of its sov- 
ereignty, to annul the clause containing the pruliibiiion there being noihing 
in the Constitution of the United Stales proiiibiting the exercise o( such a 
power. The act iui;;ht be regarded as a violation of the terms ol' adml~^ion, 
and perhaps a secession from the I'liion ; Inil nothing more. It wonic! not re- 
lapse into the condition ot'a dependeni or a colony. Suppose a Slate, organ- 
ized with a Constitniion without the prohibition and rejccled on an ap;)lication 
for admission into the Union, what would be its coiulilioii ': It would be a 
Slate out of tlie Union, capable olexeriiiig all the fuiutions of an iiidcpendcnl 
sovereiirnty ; for new Stales may be formed without the consent of Congress, 
provided they are not formed within the jurisdici ion of any other State, or by 
the junction of two or more Slates, or pans of Slates. The power to admit 
Slates into the Union, implies or pre supposes liie power of the people to erect 
themselves into States — and that without the consent ql Congress, exirept In 
the cases stated. Hence, it seems clear to me that Congress has no jurisdic- 
tion of the (juesiion of slavery, and can only exercise the arbitrary power of 
refusing to a State tolerating it admission into Ihe Union. The rejected Stale 
has to make its elei tion between an acquiescence in the demand of Congress, 
and the consequences of erecii'ng and mainlaining a sovereignty, on territory 
which had belonged to the United Stales. Entertaining the opinion, then, tliat 
Congress — however it may yield to the pressing necessity of establishing a 
(iovernmenl /or a people without law — can nol assume the anthorily. under 
the plea of that necessity, to make political regulations aifecting the rights ol 
the |)eo()le oflhe Stales ; and thai tl'.erc is a want of corii^iilutional aiKliority lor 
any kind of action on the subject. I cannot believe thai the Supreme Court 
will otherwise decide. Should the Supreme Court, however, sustain Congress 
in the usurpation of this power, and sanction the erroneous and dangerous 
principle ihal Congress may, by mere usage, acquire a power never delegated 
to it by the peojjle or the States, those .Stales whose political rights are inl'ring- 
ed by the uneonstitutional legislation, must convene and adoi)l such measures 
as their interest and safely demand. "Our glorious Uninon was built upon an 
(Equality among the Slates, and upon that foundation aloni; it can stand." 

Who can read this argument and deny to its au- 
thor the possession of the comprehensive thougljt 



EULOGY : CHARLES J. m'dONALD. 27 



of the statesman with the clear kigic of the jurist ? 
And now listen to the !anfriia(]re of the whole-sonled 
patriot, rising far above the mere partizan character 
of the political era in which he lived ! For is it not 
true, o-cntlemen, is it not too true, that, for liilly a 
generation past, the politics of those who have been 
out of power has been vivified, controlled and poinl- 
ed vrith the belittling view of waging successful op- 
position to those who were in? 

•Hilt, gentlemen, iiulopendeiil of the consiilerations already stated, against 
tlie iiiiiiiediate call of a Convenlioii of Slates, it !^ee^ls to me that it would not 
lie treating General Taylor with the respeiit due to the Chief Magistrate elei-t, 
to adopt i-o important a step, on the assumption that he will tolerate the ag- 
gression on Southern rijjhts whicli we fear. I cast my vote for his very dis- 
tinguished opponent. Imt I am willing to 'let his Administration be judged iiy 
his arts.'' We must hope that he will n"t allow his .(Administration to lie sig- 
nalized by the damning injustice, and its fatal consequences. The consequen- 
ces will follow, as certainly as day succeeds night; and consequences, loo. 
which must sadden the heart of every philanthropist and patriot. Is it too late 
to hope that the separation of the States may be prevented by the return of 
••Wisdom, .Justice and Moderation" to our national councils.' If it is, those 
who have hitherto been united in the bonds of |>olilical brotherhood, will be 
converted into strangers and aliens; for amongst the first measures of a new 
Conlederacy, would lie the enforcement ot non-intercourse with the other 
American States, as the only measure of absolute security to the interest which 
they have so perseveringly assailed.'" 

Is it not difficult to decide which is transcendent 
ill the character of this (jreat man — the far-seeincr 
statesman, or the grand-hearted patriot? 

M' e thus perceive that, adhering strictly to the Con- 
stitution, Gov. McDonald belonged to the only school 
of logical, philosophical statesmen produced under 
the old system. Against the assumption by the 
Federal Government of any power not granted by 



28 EULOGY : CHARLES J. M DONALD. 



the strictest letter of the Constitution, he energeti- 
cally warred ; and that with an eye, not so much 
to the immediate effects of such unanthorized leg- 
islation, as to ultimate, revolutionary laxity in all 
legislation, and the final substitution of the arbitrary 
will of a numerical majority for the sovereign law 
of the land. A wanton violation of the Constitu- 
tion, in itself, of itself, by itself, a rank revolution- 
ary movement, was, in his judgment, to be resijNted, 
resisted at once, resisted at all hazards, resisted to 
a disruption of the Union itself, nay, resisted even 
in a blaze, if need be, of internecine war. To this 
great end, calmly and philosophically, but none the 
less firmly and assiduously, did he labor to infuse 
into others the stern, Spartan element of his own 
manhood. 

It is well known to all that these were the prin- 
ciples upon which he planted himself in the mem- 
orable crisis of 1850, and which he proclaimed to 
the world as President of the Nashville Convention. 
Temporary quiet might indeed be restored to the 
country by a time-serving policy of compromise, 
but, in a recofj^nized violation of the Constitution, 
permanent security never ! The peel might be 
fresh and tempting to the lip, but the fruit was rot- 
tin"; at the core ! 

And these were the principles which he announc- 
ed in sustaining the course of the seceders from the 
Charleston Convention; wliich he would have pro- 



EULOGY : CHARLES J. m'dONALD. 29 

mulgated everywhere in Georgia, iiad he possessed 
the physical strengtii to enter actively into the Inst 
Presidential canvass, and which it was among the 
most earnest desires of his closing daj^s to have re- 
duced to writing, but the disease-smitten frame 
declined responding to the patriotic purpose ! 

Ah ! my friends, is there not a profound patlios 
in the picture of this most excellent man, sickening 
and perishing by degrees, and as if in due ratio with 
the development into life and sunshine of the prin- 
ciples for which he had been contending through 
long and dreary years of doubt and of gloom ; now 
grasping his pen with feverish excitement, as the 
din of the distant canvass came to his ear — eaorer, 
once ag^ain, thouo;h it miofht be for the last time, to 
commune with the people whom he had been con- 
ducting through the desert, when the sands were 
parched and the waters scarce, but to behold it fall 
from a trembling hand ; led, as it were, to the Pis- 
gah height of inspiration, and pointed to the city of 
Palms, and the cedars of Lebanon, to the orcliards 
and vineyards, the green pastures and the still wa- 
ters of the land of promise, but to hear, in the pro- 
fundity of his soul, the organ tones, " I have caused 
thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go 
over thither." 

It frequently occurs that men of decided charac- 
ter and eminent position, rousing, as they inevitably 
must, violent antagonism in the bosoms of others, 
fail to receive the meed of praise which is justly 



30 EULOGY : CHARLES J. m'dONALD. 

their due, until the grave, closing above their mortal 
forms, presents the only impervious shield to the 
poisonous shafts of envy and of malice. No states- 
man, however, in Georgia, has been the recipient, 
during his life, of so many and such continued evi- 
dences of personal appreciation as Gov. McDonald. 
Before the people he wns rarely defeated for any 
office ; before his own party — never ! It must be 
fresh in the niemories of all that, when a candidate 
the second time for the Gubernatorial chair, although 
opposed by the most popular man of the then Whig- 
party — the Hon. Wm. C. Dawson — with the pres- 
tige in the preceding election of S,<iOO majority, he 
was retained in office by a flattering vote. When- 
ever his own immediate party needed their strong- 
est man, he was selected as their candidate, and, 
irrespective of all personal considerations, never 
refused to bear the brunt of the struggle. Hemliiig 
the electoral ticket of Breckenridge and Lane, in 
the late presidential election, he also led it by a con- 
siderable majority, although wholly unable to take 
an active part in the canvass; and I am a witness 
to the fact that wherever, from mountain to sea- 
board, his honored name was mentioned, it did not 
fail to elicit an outgushing expression of popular 
affection. 

And yet it was at liome. in his own family, among 
his personal friends, that he was best appreciated 
and most beloved. If the question should be pro- 
pounded : Why was this? assuredly the answer is 



eulogy: CHARLES J. m'donald. 31 

at hand ! With Gov. McDonald, ambition was 
never allowed to grow into despotic proportions. 
Tie never permitted it to devour the kindlier emo- 
tions of the soul. It never embittered his personal 
relations; did not dry nj) any of the fountains of 
social enjoyment; was not enthroned in his spirit 
as the dispenser of personal happiness. His whole 
life indicates how profoundly he realized that his 
own happiness was to be sought and found at home ; 
how fully he appreciated the senliment so exquis- 
itely embodied in the lines: 

" Why have I strayi'd from plea.«tire and repose, 

To ."cek a ffood earli govfriiiijeiH liesiows ? 

In every jrovernnient, ihoiiiih lerrors reign. 

Though tyrant kings or tyrant laws re.'^train, 

IIow small, if all that liiiinan hearts endure, 

That pari winch laws or kings can cau>e or cure! 

Siill to our>elves in every pl-aee {•onsigned, 

Our own Celiiily we make or (ird. 

Willi secret ci)in>e, \\ huh no loud .'^torms annoy. 

Glides the snioolli cuireni ol domestic joy : 

The lilte<J axe. the agonizing wheel, 

Luke's iron erdwii. and Daiiiiens lied ol steel. 

To men remote iVom power Imi rarely known. 

Leave rea>oti. f'ailli and coii>cien<,'e all our own."' 

Does the young heart wish to know whether the 
loftiest triumphs of ambition, at the sacrifice of the 
home affections, ever conduct to happiness ? Bright 
'shone the sun of Austerlitz, as if to reflect the glory 
of one transcendent man. The i^mis-officier of a 
French Company had become the armed dictator of 
a continent; and yet, with a continent at his feet, 
Avith a career already contided to history, in com- 
parison with which the proudest achievements of 



32 EULOGY : CHARLES J. m'donald. 

the proudest of the Csesars had been made to pale, 
writino- from the retirement of his own soul to Jo- 
sephine — his reproachful wife ; Josephine, restless 
in her empire — woman's empire — the empire of the 
heart, which she would have had more boundless 
than visible space, and more enduring than time ; 
complaining of how much she suffered on account 
of his absence in hot pursuit of her sole rival — Am- 
bition ! the soldier, the consul, the conqueror, the 
Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte, penned these most 
significant words : " Thou and I have lived long 
enough to know that to live is to suffer." Ah ! won- 
derful man, and did it not occur to thy profound 
thought that a just God had made neither thyself 
nor Josephine to suffer ? that the same spirit of 
eternal law^ which guides, in the world of instinct, the 
burdened bee from the robbed flower to his six-sid- 
ed cell of wax — must, if implicitly obeyed, conduct 
the human soul to its final rest, "lone-wandering" 
at times, it may be, but not wholly " lost?" And 
it did not then require the barren rocks of St. Hel- 
ena, nor the monotonous roar of ocean, which saluted 
thy walk upon that desolate strand, as if chanting 
the funeral dirge of Hope herself, to teach thee that 
no triumphal march of Ambition, however gorgeous ;- 
no achievement of human genius, however God- 
like ; no terrestrial empire constructed by indomita- 
ble energy, massive block upon block, as the Egyp- 
tian architect reared the pyramid ; no " pomp and 
circumstance of glorious war;" no "starred and 



EULOGY ! CHARLES J. m'dONALD. 33 

spangled court where low-born baseness wafts per- 
fume to pride," can compensate for the sacrifice of 
07ie devoted woman's love ! 

Look first npon that picture, and then upon this ! 
We mourn the fall of no Bonaparte ; yet, thinli you, 
we grieve the less profoundly for that ? History 
shall prepare no garland of conqueror or emperor, 
to decorate the memory of him we deplore ; yet, 
think you, the fiowers which we have been gather- 
ing are less beauteous in tint, in fragrance less pure, 
to the angel in heaven less acceptable than they ? 

Unholy ambition has not as yet enacted — God 
grant that it may never enact ! — such tragedies upon 
this continent as have crimsoned the annals of the 
elder world. Yet, impure ambition has been the 
curse of American life ; the fever parching out the 
tenderer and holier emotions of the soul ; the cancer 
eating towards the heart of the noblest of political 
civilizations, and, if it be not exorcised or exalted 
by the influence of model lives like the one we con- 
template, must inevitably destroy it ! It is, at last, 
in the home circle — around the family altar — that 
the hot breathings and tempestuous palpitations of 
a morbid ambition are soothed into the natural flow 
of a dutiful and self-sacrificing patriotism. There- 
fore 1 say that, not simply the peculiar beauty, but 
the crowning glory in the character of him we have 
lost, was that, however exalted the statesman's aspi- 
rations to serve his country, he never immolated 



34 



EULOGY 



CHARLES J. M DONALD. 



upon the shrine of selfish ambition one of the home 
duties of the heart. In the picture of iiis life the 
statesman stands not in solitude, nor overshadowing 
ail. The Husband, the Father, the Brother, the 
Master, the Friend, behold the development into 
their natural proportions of all the social phases of 
the true man — each sustaining the other — no artis- 
tic grouping of earth's creation — grouping designed 
by God himself! 

I am admonished that here I tread upon ground 
which is holy, and my step must be light. I invoke 
^once more to my aid the inimitable eloquence of his 
distinguished friend and associate : 

"Life's work Ijeiiig done and well done — this great and good man was gather- 
ed to his Fathers lull of vears and full of honors. I would not violate the 
delicacy which good breeding imposes, by invading the sanctity of social in- 
tercourse., I shall be pardoned, I trust, for stating that, in obedience to his 
earnest invitation, I paid a visit to my late associate not long before his de- 
mise. It was difficult to realize that the feeble and attenuated frame before 
me was all that was left of that once powerful and muscular man — who would 
have won prizes as a wrestler at the Olympic games; and who was a stranger 
to disease till within the last few years of his life. His wife, a fine specimen 
of a Virginia lady, was then on her sick-bed, never to rise again. Upon hear- 
ing of her death, I addressed a note of sympathy and condolence to my grief- 
stricken friend — in which I expressed the hope that "the self sacrificing spirit 
of his loved and lost companion had already received its appropriate rc^ward, 
lionor, glory and immortality at the right hand of God." To which he responded 
in language the most tender and touching — concluding with these words, "It 
a soul was ever prepared for peace and bliss in that hallowed mansion of rest 
hers was. May (lod enable me to bear my bereavement, and prepare me to 
meet her in His Holy Habitation." 

I trust that his prayer was answered, and that his sjJirit redeemed from 
death has found his friend again within the arms of God !'" 

So the last leaves in the book of his life were 
moistened by tears;, '' solvuntur Jletu tabular'' and 



EULOGY : CHARLES J. IM DONALD. 



35 



yet how precious were those tears ! Might not the 
"disconsolate Peri," beariiio; one of them to "Eden"s j 
garden gate,'' have claimed admission to the lost i 
Paradise ? 




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